As Alison Redford notified the Alberta Speaker’s office this week that she had a legitimate reason to be absent from the legislature, the former premier was spotted several times in the resort city of Palm Springs.

Redford has not attended the legislative assembly since she stepped down from the job on March 23, but two travellers told the Herald they’ve seen the Calgary-Elbow MLA in the California community in the past week.

Several other people have used Facebook and Twitter to report sightings of Redford in the desert city, where she has a recreational property.

Sasa Kovacevic told the Herald he spotted Redford at Lulu California Bistro — a popular Palm Springs restaurant — the morning of Easter Sunday, two days before the legislature resumed sitting last week.

Kovacevic, an Edmonton resident, said he and his sister were waiting for a table when a woman and girl walked into the eatery. At first he paid no attention to the pair.

“She said she had a reservation for Redford,” Kovacevic said in a phone interview Saturday. “The name caught me so I looked up and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s Alison Redford.’”

Kovacevic said Redford and the girl, presumably her daughter, Sarah, were with them in the waiting area for a few minutes.

“She was dressed very casually. It was quite warm, so you know, just like a nice light dress. She seemed OK, hanging out, relaxing I guess,” he said.

“I think she realized I knew who she was. We exchanged a couple glances, but after, she wouldn’t make eye contact with me.”

No one else in the restaurant seemed to recognize her, Kovacevic said.

He said he was surprised to see Redford in the resort city. “As far as I know, she’s still an MLA and should be in the legislature.”

An employee who answered the phone at Lulu California Bistro confirmed that Redford had a reservation at the restaurant at 11:30 on the morning of April 20.

Photos that appear to show Redford and her daughter dining at an eatery identified as Giuseppe’s Pizza and Pasta in Palm Springs on Friday were also widely circulated on social media. The legislature did not sit on Friday and doesn’t resume until May 5.

Redford, who was first elected as an MLA in 2008, was also spotted at a car rental counter at Palm Springs International Airport on April 22.

“She walked by and I thought, ‘oh, there’s the premier,’” said a Vancouver businessman who was at the desert airport to pick up a friend arriving on a flight from Calgary.

A man who answered the phone at Redford’s Palm Springs residence Saturday afternoon said she was not there. A phone call to the former premier’s constituency office was not returned.

Redford hasn’t attended the legislature since she resigned from the premier’s post on March 23 amid mounting questions over her travel expenses and her use of the government executive aircraft fleet.

Under provincial laws, MLAs can be absent from the legislature for 10 sitting days in a session before they are docked pay. For each subsequent day’s absence without an explanation, MLAs lose $100 plus $50 from their expense allowance.

MLAs in Alberta earn a base salary of $134,000 annually, although the premier collects an additional $83,750.

Redford’s office notified the legislature Speaker’s office on Wednesday that she was absent under a clause that permits MLAs to miss sessions in the assembly due to illness or injury, bereavement or government duties. The specific reason has not been released.

Speaker Gene Zwozdesky could not be reached for comment, but his assistant said Friday the process is based on the honour system.

Zwozdesky’s office is not obligated to approve the request for absence. “These are honourable members and the Speaker would receive the notification and he would take the member at their word, obviously,” said Bev Alenius.

MLAs ultimately report to their constituents, she added. “Each member is elected independently.”

Earlier this week, Premier Dave Hancock said he wasn’t concerned about Redford’s absence.

“It’s not my duty as premier to police attendance in the legislature,” he said Wednesday. “I am not about to question how any given MLA represents constituents...People can make their own judgement in respect to that.”

But former deputy premier and potential PC leadership candidate Thomas Lukaszuk suggested Thursday that Redford should return to the legislature — unless she is medically unable to do so.

“My constituents expect me to show up for work every day and that’s what taxpayers are paying me for,” Lukaszuk said.

Earlier this month, Marina Mason, president of the Tory constituency association in Calgary-Elbow, defended Redford attendance and said the former premier has the continued support of local PCs.

“She’s elected for four years — with a huge majority — and she’s going to continue in that role until she’s ready to move or stay on, or what have you,” Mason said.

Wildrose MLA Rob Anderson believes that while Redford has every right to visit Palm Springs, she should be doing the job as MLA she’s paid to do.

“Just because you’ve been knocked down a peg doesn’t mean you don’t show up,” Anderson said Saturday.

“Given everything that’s happened, she should either come home and work in her constituency, particularly when the house is in session, or it’s time to hang ‘em up because this is not being respectful.”

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